Solved Wireless Threads

[jimcpl]

Hi,

I just got a WHR-G300N.  This is my first experience with an "N" wireless router, and the learning curve seems kind "steep" :)...

With some help from Buffalo tech support, I was able to get the WHR-G300N configured as an Access Point, with a fixed IP address on my LAN (192.168.0 subnet).

All of my machines that have wireless have only 802.11G adapters, except for my laptop, an HP DV9930US (running Vista 64), which has an Intel 4965AGN mini-card installed, and I've been working on getting the router and 4965AGN working better than G speeds.

At first, the laptop adapter appeared in the WHR-G300N web GUI under "Client Monitoring" with "802.11n" showing as "Disabled".

I had known about setting the WHR-G300N to 40MHz, but even after doing that, the laptop adapter still showed "Disabled" under "802.11n".

So, I was tweaking some of the settings in the adapter configuration, until I found some information that said I needed to set the WHR-G300N to WPA2 and AES. 

As soon as I did that, and also set the adapter security settings to WPA2 and AES, Vista was showing ~117mbps.

So that was some progress.

Now, I'm wondering:  Is that the best that I can do?  Is there any way to get this running at say, 270-300 mbps?

Right now, the wireless settings for the WHR-G300N are:

Channel: 4

Bandwidth: 40

Extension Channel: 8

Broadcast SSID: checked

Separate Feature: unchecked

Wireless authentication: WPA2-PSK

Wireless encryption: AES

Under "Advanced(11g)", all the settings are the defaults.

Can anyone suggest what other things might help increase the speed above the ~117mbps that I'm getting now?

Thanks,

Jim

[jimcpl]

Hi,

I think that I've figured things out.

First of all, from talking to Buffalo tech support, it appears that the WHR-G300N only operates @ 2.4Ghz (and not at all @ 5Ghz).

Then, I found this page, regarding the Intel 4965AGN chipset:

http://www.intel.com/network/connectivity/products/wireless/wireless_n/overview.htm

Note that on that page, under "Friendly Neighbor Assurance", it says:

  "Supports current Draft-N standard direction to support 40MHz channels only in 5GHz 

  spectrum to minimize negative impact to legacy devices/networks nearby."

In other words, it appears that the 4965AGN is purposely designed to prevent it from using the 50MHz channels @ 5Ghz, and thus it can only interoperate @ 2.4Ghz.

From other searching that I did, 11n is suppose to be able to operate @ 300mbps, but apparently it's more difficult to achieve that @ 2.4Ghz, so that's apparently why, in spite of enabling 40MHz operation on the WHR-G300N, I wasn't able to get a connection greater than 130mbps.

To kind of prove this to myself, I did more testing, with a Belkin F5D0813 11n PCCARD that I had, in a different laptop (my DV9930US only has an Expresscard slot).

The Belkin adapter uses a Ralink RT2860 chipset, so I installed the driver and management app from Ralink:

http://www.ralinktech.com/support.php

Then, I tested again, using the Belkin card. 

The nice thing about the Ralink management app is that it shows receive and send connection speeds along with "throughput".

When I tested with the Belkin card and the WHR-G300N, the Ralink app showed that I was getting ~270mbps and ~150mbps receive/send (again, this was on 2.4Ghz)!!

So, mystery solved....

Anyway, I hope that this information might help someone else...

Jim

[zaphod777]

Thanks I now got my router running "n" :-) but I got lost on why we can't get the full 300 speed. I have the same Intel adapter.

[jimcpl]

Hi,

I've been tweaking the channels on the router, and I was able to get 144mbps intermittently, but not 150mbps or anything greater than 150mbps.

Actually, I'm kind of not 100% clear why I can't get 270-300mbps, using the Intel 4965agn with this Buffalo router too :)...

The info that I find indicates that it's theoretically possible to get >150mbps on 2.4Ghz, and I can do that, with a different adapter with the Ralink RT2860 chipset, but not with the 4965agn chipset.

I just ordered another router that operates at 5Ghz only, so when that gets in, I'll try it with the Intel 4965agn, and post back.  I fully expect that I'll be able to get that working at 270-300mbps.

Jim

[zaphod777]

Maybe they will fix it in a firmware update. I am able to get 130 so that is good enough for me for now. 

[jimcpl]

Hi,

I don't think that Buffalo can do anything on the router side to change this situation, because the problem is that the Buffalo WHR-G300N is ONLY a 2.4Ghz router, AND the 4965agn does NOT operate at 2.4Ghz/40Mhz.  See this:

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=77662&view=previous

where they say:

"ah ok so you're saying the 4965agn connects to:

2.4ghz @ 20mhz
5ghz @ 20mhz
5ghz @ 40mhz
?

BUT, it won't connect to 2.4ghz @ 40mhz?"

I *think*, but am not sure, that in order to get >150mbps, with a wireless router that operates on only 2.4Ghz, the wireless adapter needs to be able to operate at 2.4Ghz AND 40Mhz. 

Mind you, I haven't found anything definitive that says that it's impossible to get >150mbps with an adapter (like the 4965agn) that can only work at 2.4Ghz with 20Mhz.

I also think that that's why that Belkin PCCARD that I have, which uses the Ralink RT2860 chipset is able to work at 270mbps (i.e., the Belkin PCCARD/Ralink RT2860 chipset DOES operate at 2.4Ghz with 40Mhz).

My conclusion is that to get >150mbps, you (I) need to either:

- Get an adapter that is able to work at 2.4Ghz with 40Mhz, OR

- Get a router that is able to work at 5Ghz with 40Mhz.

I'm doing the latter (waiting for the new router). 

I know that this is all probably very confusing :)...  *I* keep getting confused, anyway :)...

Jim

[Aveyer]

There is nothing wrong with the router, it operates in 2.4GHz (20mhz or 40mhz mode) only.Your adapter doesn't seem to support 2.4Ghz 40mhz mode, get an adapter that does and you'll get 300mbps speed. I have the same router and a Buffalo N adapter and can get 300mbps no problem.

[jimcpl]

Aveyer,

I've kind of come to the same conclusion, i.e., that it may not be possible to get > 150mbps with the 4965agn and this router, because the 4965agn will only operate at 2.4Ghz/20Mhz and NOT at 2.4Ghz/40Mhz :(...

However, I've yet to find a definitive, technical explanation of *WHY* that (>150mbps on 2.4Ghz/20Mhz) is not possible, so I'm still curious.  If you, or anyone else, might be either able to explain that, or cite a reference, I'd be very interested.

Thanks,

Jim

[jimcpl · Accepted solution]

Hi,

I think that I've found most of the answers to my question ("Why can't achieve >150mbps with 2.4Ghz and 20Mhz channels?") here:

http://www.atheros.com/pt/tech_overview/DFS_app_note.pdf

The relevant information is in the "11n Squeezed at 2.4 GHz" section, in particular, where it says:

"Rather than two 40-MHz channels, 11n networks can realistically be expected to provide only three non-overlapping 20-MHz channels at 2.4 GHz - just like 11G networks.  Maximum 802.11n PHY throughput for a 20-MHz channel is 150 Mbps."

Then, from here:

http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=313091&sid=ee5dc86ebfaff097c4b1d75a47e4a981

it says:

"However, the 4965agn chipset does not support channel bonding in the 2.4 GHz band..."

So, I guess that since the 4965agn can only operate on 2.4Ghz/20Mhz, and it cannot channel bond in the 2.4Ghz, that <150mbps I'm seeing is from one 20Mhz channel.

Jim

[zaphod777]

wow good research. You think all "n" devices would just work like "g" does. I guess that is the problem with buying them before there is an official excepted standard by the IEEE. 

hopefully this becomes less of a problem in the future.